Request to rezone property for 472-bedroom apartment complex expected

In the spirit of not taking no for an answer, the Chambliss family is once again planning to ask City Hall to rezone its property on Hargrove Road to allow for the development of an apartment complex.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer | The Tuscaloosa News

In the spirit of not taking no for an answer, the Chambliss family is once again planning to ask City Hall to rezone its property on Hargrove Road to allow for the development of an apartment complex.This time, it is seeking the rezoning to allow a Tampa, Fla.-based developer to construct a 228-unit, 472-bed traditional apartment complex on the land that has been in the Chambliss family for more than seven decades.“We've constantly tried to meet with the neighborhoods, and they've expressed their concerns with us, and every time we try to meet their concerns, they move the goal posts,” said Benton Chambliss.Plans for the development have been submitted to City Hall, but the rezoning request — the seventh for a student housing complex — has yet to go before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council for consideration.Chambliss said these plans were designed by 908 Development of Tampa, Fla., with the concerns of residents and city leaders in mind. These include building limits of two and three stories (plans with four-story buildings drew complaints in the past) and the elimination of any four-bedroom units.All the units in the proposed $32 million complex have one, two or three bedrooms and the units are laid out in a traditional apartment style, Chambliss said.“We met all these (demands),” Chambliss said, “and we've met with city officials and we talked to them about this upcoming project.”On Friday, Chambliss met or spoke with at least two of the incoming members of the City Council, including District 7 Councilwoman-elect Sonya McKinstry, who will be representing the area where the Arlington site lies.But he is now concerned with the recent recommendations of the Student Rental Housing Task Force, which recommended last month that the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council refuse to consider any rezoning requests for apartment complexes of more than 200 units outside of an area near the University of Alabama campus.Chambliss said he thinks the recommendation is unfair. If a certain area of the city is off limits, then all areas should be, he said. But he said he is hopeful plans for the new development will get a fair consideration because they were filed with City Hall on Oct. 18, and the task force's recommendations have yet to be formally adopted by the City Council.The most recent development to fail on the Arlington site was in July when a rezoning request for a $20 million, 473-bedroom student housing complex was withdrawn from City Council consideration.This proposed development, as had almost every one prior to it, met opposition from nearby neighborhoods. Public safety, property values and traffic congestion were the main concerns. In May, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 against recommending approval by the Tuscaloosa City Council.Aspen Heights, the Texas-based developers, said the community resistance played a role in the decision to withdraw.